{"sf1_id":2031180,"sf2_id":"A1p3vwqn","title":"MHO - The Cult of the Crimson Isles - Chapter 1","author":"Lloxie","words":4159,"posted_at":"2023-07-30T18:35:00.000Z","tags":["Adventure","Canine","Cervidae","Cervine","Custom Species Names","Deer","Fantasy","Husky","Hybrid","Konuul","Magic","Male","Primitive","Sereva","Tribal","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2031180-mho-the-cult-of-the-crimson-isles-chapter-1","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/A1p3vwqn","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/74/43/74435fe2-5136-4459-a0d5-a36a4d14365e","description":"#50 of Mystic Heart Odyssey\n\nAnd here we are, the beginning of episode 5- The Cult of the Crimson Isles! Starting off a bit light, as the boys marvel at an exotic location unlike anything they're particularly familiar with. \n\nPlease remember to leave a comment to share any thoughts you have about this chapter! I can only grow with feedback!\n\nPosted using PostyBirb","content":"_Mystic Heart Odyssey_\n\n  \n\n_Part 5: The Cult of the  \nCrimson Isles_\n\n  \n\n_Chapter 1_\n\n  \n\n_Ah, time for the start of a  \nnew episode! Another exotic location, too- even moreso than the last  \nplace they saw!_\n\n  \n\n_Just a heads up, this one,  \nlike many (but not all!) future episodes will likely be on the  \nshorter side, to fit the more episodic adventure tone I'm going  \nfor. Or at least that's the plan for now, but you know how my plans  \ntend to go, hehe. But at least as of now, I'm looking at this one  \nbeing anywhere from 3 to 5 chapters long._\n\n  \n\n_-Llox_\n\n  \n\n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\n\n  \n\n  \n\nLykou was slightly confused when Kuna took a little longer than he  \nexpected to come through the portal after him. Still, the gap between  \nthem allowed him to steady himself and help keep the sereva from  \nstumbling over when he came out. \"You alright?\" he asked after  \ncatching his friend. \"I thought you were right behind me.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Mm, just... got slightly delayed, that's all. Don't worry  \nabout it,\" Kuna replied with a smile, enjoying the fact that he was  \nonce again briefly held up in the konuul's arms. When he stood up,  \nhe looked down as he felt water around his feet. \"Thanks for  \ncatching me. Glad I didn't fall down in that.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, this is... different,\" Lykou commented, looking past the  \nsereva with wide eyes. The arch had dropped them out in the back of a  \nparticularly shallow cave of sorts, at the base of a large, sheer  \ncliff. But more notably, the ground beneath them was sandy and  \ncovered in water- which extended out as far as they could see. \"That  \nhas got to be the biggest lake I've ever seen.\"\n\n  \n\nKuna looked up and gawked slightly. \"No kidding! Damn... I can't  \neven see the shore on the other side!\"\n\n  \n\n\"Well, lets get out of this water. Looks like the cliff gives way  \nto a slope down there,\" the canid said, pointing down along the  \nshore a short way. He sniffed the air a bit as they started walking,  \nthen studied the cliff a bit. \"Weird, I smell salt, but I don't  \nsee any crystals of the stuff.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, I was going to mention that too.\" Suddenly, the sereva  \npaused and glanced down again. \"Wait...\"\n\n  \n\n\"What is it?\"\n\n  \n\nKuna glanced over at the konuul, then pulled up the edges of his  \nponcho to avoid getting it wet before bending down to first sniff,  \nthen lap at the water. He bit his lip for a moment when he stood back  \nup. \"...yep. It's the water.\"\n\n  \n\nLykou arched a brow. \"Huh? The water's... salty??\"\n\n  \n\n\"Mhmm,\" Kuna said, eyeing the water. He wanted to drink it, but  \nhe also knew better, and his expression clearly showed as much.  \n\"Shit. I uh. I've seen salty water exactly once before.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Really?\" Lykou asked with a wary expression. \"You seem a bit  \nworried... is it a bad thing?\"\n\n  \n\nKuna stared back at him thoughtfully for a moment, then shrugged and  \ncontinued heading for the slope ahead of them with Lykou following  \nalong. \"Depends on if we can find regular water. Don't get me  \nwrong, you know me, I'd happily drink it if I could. But uh...  \nturns out that's a bad idea.\"\n\n  \n\n\"It is?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yep. When I was a little kid, the tribe stopped by this weird lake  \nthat seemed to go on forever in one direction. The water was salty,  \nand being the dummy I was, I started gulping a bunch of it down  \nbefore anyone could stop me. A bit later I was extremely nauseous and  \nall around miserable. AND somehow even thirstier than ever. One of  \nthe elders said drinking salt water is apparently not a good idea at  \nall and can make you super sick.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Good to know,\" Lykou responded, pulling out his waterskin and  \ntaking a sip as they began to ascend the slope. The new place they  \nfound themselves in was just as warm as before, but at least in this  \ncase there was a constant breeze offsetting it. \"Hope we find some  \nnon-salty water soon, then. Gonna need a refill soon.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, and I want to set up camp as soon as we can. I think those  \nbiscuits are starting to wear off and all that running is catching up  \nto me.\" The sereva's stomach rumbled slightly and he grinned  \nsheepishly. \"And uh, an early dinner would be nice, too.\"\n\n  \n\nLykou chuckled and turned his attention further inland as they  \ncontinued climbing the slope. It looked like they were on the side of  \na small forested mountain, and while the brush was a bit less dense  \nthan the jungle they'd previously found themselves in, it had  \nsimilar kinds of plantlife. The one thing that stood out were the  \nmajority of the trees- neither of them had seen palms before. \"Weird  \nlooking trees here.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, skinny things... hey, wait, look!\" Kuna pointed up at the  \ntops of one of the trees which had clusters of what were undoubtedly  \nsome kind of fruit growing on it. \"I wonder if those are safe to  \neat?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Could be... don't know how you'll get them way up there,  \nthough.\" He lightly tapped on the tree's trunk with his knuckles.  \n\"Looks like it'd be kind of tricky to climb.\"\n\n  \n\n\"True,\" Kuna said, deflating a little. \"Eh, they might not even  \nbe worth it anyway.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Hey, don't give up so quick- we might find one that's a bit  \neasier to climb.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Well like I said, right now let's focus on finding salt-free  \nwater and a good place to camp out.\"\n\n  \n\nThey walked for an hour or two before they found any sign of  \nfreshwater. Some streams meandered through the tropical forest, but  \nthey were small. Along the way, they were taken aback by the  \nfascinating wildlife around them, including some of the largest  \nbutterflies and most colorful birds they'd seen yet. At one point,  \nthey encountered a snake coiling its way up around a tree. Its scales  \nwere brightly colored, and the colors kept changing as it moved.  \nLykou was fascinated by the creature, but Kuna yelped and hid behind  \nthe canid when he saw it. \"Fuck!\"\n\n  \n\nThe canid chuckled. The snake paused to look at them for a moment  \nbefore continuing on its way at a casual pace, seemingly unbothered  \nby their presence. \"Relax, it doesn't look hostile. Pretty dang  \nneat lookin' little guy, too. Never seen something that could  \nchange its colors like that.\"\n\n  \n\n\"'s a damn snake,\" Kuna retorted, shooting him a look.\n\n  \n\nLykou rolled his eyes a bit, then booped the sereva's nose. \"C'mon,  \nhe's not even that big.\"\n\n  \n\nKuna just stuck his tongue out in response, earning another snicker  \nfrom the konuul as they turned to continue onward.\n\n  \n\nEventually, when the ridge flattened out a bit more, they came across  \na relatively clear, raised spot situated between two of the larger  \nstreams. And as they were clearing away some debris to make way for a  \nfirepit, they spotted one of the fruit from the trees that fell at  \nsome point- only it was brown, having fully ripened before falling.  \nAnd they immediately recognized it. \"Oh, hey, isn't that one of  \nthose coconut things the shakonu had?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah! This is great, we can eat the inside bits, then I have an  \nidea for the shell!\" Lykou said excitedly. \"Here, let me see your  \nhatchet for a minute.\" After Kuna handed him the tool, he gave it a  \ncouple good chops along the middle. It wasn't as even as he'd  \nhave liked, but it was close enough. As soon as he had it open, Kuna  \nwas hovering closeby, eyeing it hungrily. He chuckled and handed one  \nof the halves to the sereva and set to work setting up the firepit  \nwhile he ate. Once he'd finished and collected whatever small bits  \nof wood he could find, he dug into his own half, figuring he'd go  \ngather more after they'd both eaten.\n\n  \n\n\"What did you have in mind for the shell?\" Kuna asked between  \nmouthfuls. He'd dug out one of the other fruit they'd previously  \ncollected to eat along with the coconut and was enjoying the  \ncombination a lot more than the coconut by itself.\n\n  \n\n\"Well, we already know they make decent bowls. I also want to see  \nhow fire-resistant they are, because I want to try making some soup.\"\n\n  \n\nKuna swallowed and arched a brow. \"Soup... yeah we had some of that  \nback in Clovaria one time, right?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yep. It's where you cook a bunch of stuff in water together. It  \nactually works best if you do it slowly on like the coals rather than  \na full fire. Takes a while but worth it.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Huh. Sounds... strange. But I guess practical. Like having a drink  \nand food at the same time. And I remember the kind the lepne made was  \npretty good.\"\n\n  \n\n\"It's the best in the wintertime, of course, but lately I've  \nbeen kind of craving some kind of soup. That salty water got me  \nthinking about it more, too.\" Lykou scratched his head  \nthoughtfully. \"Admittedly the ones I'm used to usually involve  \nmeat, but you should experiment a bit. Maybe try a charnop, along  \nwith some other things.\"\n\n  \n\n\"I'll keep that in mind.\" Kuna resumed gobbling up his food.  \nThen, suddenly, one of the bright, colorful birds they'd seen on a  \nfew occasions swooped down and landed on the collected firewood,  \nstartling both of them slightly. It seemed to be eyeing the other  \nhalf-eaten fruit in Kuna's lap. He stared back at it warily. It  \nwasn't nearly big enough to feel threatening, but its boldness  \ncertainly had him a bit on edge. \"...well you're not shy are  \nyou...\"\n\n  \n\nThe bird let out a squawk and tilted its head at him. The feathers on  \nits head frilled up and then back down as it whistled a couple times.  \nLykou watched on in amusement. \"I think he's talking to you.\"\n\n  \n\nKuna snorted in mild amusement. \"Gee, the medallions must be broken  \nthen. Didn't catch a word of it.\"\n\n  \n\nThe bird lifted one leg and made a little grabby motion in the air  \ntowards the sereva, then tilted its head the other way and let out  \nanother small squawk.\n\n  \n\n\"I think it wants some of your fruit.\"\n\n  \n\nThe sereva shielded the fruit in mock-defensiveness. \"Nuh-uh.  \nS'mine, get your own,\" he said. But then after a moment, he  \nsmirked faintly and plucked up a couple seeds and experimentally  \ntossed them on the ground towards the bird. Initially, the bird  \nstretched its wings out defensively, but when it took a look at where  \nthe seeds landed, it let out a happy whistle and hopped down to begin  \ngobbling them up. Once it finished, it hopped back up on its perch  \natop the wood and resumed watching Kuna whilst shuffling back and  \nforth. The sereva gave in and tossed it a tiny piece of seed-laden  \nfruit to see what it'd do, grinning. He had to admit the bird had a  \ncertain funny charm to it once it became clear that it wasn't a  \nthreat. \"What a funny little guy...\"\n\n  \n\n\"Aww, looks like you've made a new friend,\" Lykou said,  \nchuckling as the bird happily devoured the piece of fruit.\n\n  \n\n\"New friend, new friend, squaaawk,\" the bird suddenly blurted out  \nwhilst bobbing its head excitedly, stunning both of them.\n\n  \n\n\"Did... did that bird just... talk?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Sure as fuck sounded like it...\"\n\n  \n\nLykou eyed the thing. \"...hey, are you a spirit or something?\"\n\n  \n\nThe bird just glanced back at Lykou briefly, then turned back to Kuna  \nand tilted its head, whistling a few times. Other than that, an  \nawkward silence settled over them for a few minutes, interrupted only  \noccasionally by whistles and squawks.\n\n  \n\nKuna glanced down at his medallion, then over to Lykou, then back to  \nthe bird. \"...maybe we imagined it?\" he suggested, clearly  \ndoubting it himself.\n\n  \n\n\"I don't know, sounded like talking to me... try throwing it some  \nmore seeds.\"\n\n  \n\nThe sereva dug some seeds out of the fruit and tossed them to the  \nbird, which it happily gobbled up. \"Doesn't seem like it wants to  \nsay anything else in any case.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Anything else, anything else!\" the bird squawked, doing its  \nfunny little dance again.\n\n  \n\n\"...I stand corrected,\" Kuna deadpanned.\n\n  \n\n\"Sure as fuck!\" the bird said. \"Talking to fuck, talking....  \nFuck!\"\n\n  \n\nLykou snorted. \"Um. I'm starting to think it's just mimicking  \nus...\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, I'm starting to get that impression too. Still, never  \nknown an animal to do something like that,\" Kuna said with a  \nbemused expression as he tossed a couple more seeds.\n\n  \n\n\"Like that, like that! Squaaawk fuck,\" the bird said, earning  \nsome laughter from both of them. Laughter that it then imitated. \"New  \nfuck.\"\n\n  \n\n\"I think it has a favorite word,\" Lykou said amid a fit of  \ngiggles.\n\n  \n\n\"Ya think?\" Kuna said, snickering some more as well.\n\n  \n\n\"You know, anything that talks should have a name. Even one that  \ndoesn't know what it's saying.\"\n\n  \n\n\"What kind of name? We uh... don't even know if its male or  \nfemale,\" Kuna said, then quickly shot the canid a look. \"And no,  \nI'm _not_ going to try and check.\"\n\n  \n\nLykou snickered. \"Well neither am I,\" he retorted, then eyed the  \nbird thoughtfully. He took note of the bright yellow streaks  \nthroughout its feathers. \"Hmm... how about Sunshine?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Seems like a good gender-neutral bird name,\" Kuna replied,  \ntossing another tiny bit of fruit at their new avian buddy.\n\n  \n\n\"Alright, Sunshine it is. You like that, little guy?\"\n\n  \n\nThe bird proceeded to devour the fruit, then bob around happily.  \n\"Sunshine! Sunshinesunshinesunshine! Little guy! Fuck!\"\n\n  \n\n\"I think it's safe to say he likes it,\" Kuna said, giggling.\n\n  \n\n\"I'd say so! Nice to meet you Sunshine. I'm Lykou and this is  \nKuna.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Lykouna! Kuna Kuna Lykouna!\"\n\n  \n\nKuna snorted again. \"Looks like he's a bit confused.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Well he makes up for it in spirit, so it's alright.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Manu! Manu kino! Fuck!\"\n\n  \n\nLykou and Kuna shared a glance. \"Uhhh... did those sound like words  \nto you?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Not ones I recognize, other than the last one obviously, but... I  \nguess the medallion wouldn't translate for it anyway, since as far  \nas it knows, its just mimicking meaningless sound.\"\n\n  \n\n\"That... probably means there's other people around here  \nsomewhere,\" Kuna pointed out, glancing around the forest warily.\n\n  \n\n\"Toto! Toto m? Tuimana! Fuck!\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah... hope they're friendly.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Maybe we should forgo a fire tonight, just to be safe,\" Kuna  \nsuggested nervously.\n\n  \n\n\"Hmm... guess I can hold off on trying to make soup for tonight.  \nStill pretty warm, after all.\"\n\n  \n\n\"At least the breeze helps. It's better than the last place.\"  \nThe sereva shuddered. \"Hopefully no big monsters or ursarans\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, no kidding. Heck, it's actually almost nice here, despite  \nthe warmth.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Almost nice! Almost fuck! Manu!\"\n\n  \n\nKuna snickered and tossed one last bit of seedy fruit to the bird.  \n\"Alright, that's all I got, Sunny.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Already nicknaming it, huh?\" Lykou chuckled, then pulled some  \nmeat out of his bag to snack on alongside the rest of his half of the  \ncoconut. \"Just barely got a name and you're already tweaking it.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Why not? It's cute, the bird's cute, it works.\"\n\n  \n\n\"With that logic, I should have just called you Ku from the start.\"\n\n  \n\nKuna blushed and rolled his eyes. \"Oh hush.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Cute from the start, cute from the start, squaaawk!\"\n\n  \n\n\"And you too!\" Kuna playfully snapped, grinning in spite of  \nhimself.\n\n  \n\n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\n\n  \n\nAfter a little while, once it was clear that further fruit and seeds  \nweren't coming anytime soon, Sunshine flew up to a branch of one of  \nthe non-palm trees nearby and began to doze a bit as the sun started  \ngoing down. Before it got too dark, Lykou decided to try climbing one  \nof the more curved trees to get at some more coconuts, despite Kuna's  \nfretting and objections. Slowly, with some difficulty, he finally  \nmade it to the top, holding his knife in his mouth.\n\n  \n\nBut just as he was about to cut one loose, he froze, staring at the  \nsunset in the distance with some awe. He'd seen some pretty sights  \ninvolving the sun, especially when it reflected just right off  \nSunstone Ridge across Shimmer Loch. But this was completely  \ndifferent, with more dramatic color variations. And a flock of birds  \nflying across it really amplified the scene.\n\n  \n\n\"Woah, Kuna... you've gotta see this!\"\n\n  \n\n\"What is it? And be careful! I don't want to have to practice  \nhealing broken bones, you know...\"\n\n  \n\n\"The sunset looks amazing here! See if you can get up here and see  \nfor yourself.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Uh, Lykou? You had a slightly rough time getting up there, and  \nyou're a lot stronger than I am. Besides, it's just a sunset. I  \ndon't see it being _that_ impressive.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Just trust me, you've gotta try and find a way to get up here  \nand see this!\" Lykou insisted, looking around for options. \"Maybe  \nthere's a-...\" Suddenly, he froze and a flat look crossed his  \nface before he turned down to the sereva again with an arched brow.  \n\"Kuna.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah?\"\n\n  \n\n\"...are you too tired for any more magic?\"\n\n  \n\nKuna stared back at him for a moment blankly, before slapping his  \npalm to his face. \"Oh for the love of... what is _wrong_ with  \nme??\"\n\n  \n\nLykou stifled a snicker. \"Hey, don't beat up on yourself. I  \nforgot until now, too. And it's been a long and tiring day.\"\n\n  \n\n\"That's certainly true,\" Kuna replied with a sigh, then  \nsummoned up his magic and used it to help ascend to Lykou's level  \nby manipulating some other nearby trees. Luckily, they were already  \nbig enough, so it was more a matter of moving them around and  \nslightly altering their shape, rather than having to push a lot more  \nenergy into them.\n\n  \n\nWhen he got up to Lykou's level and turned to look where the canid  \nwas looking, his eyes widened. \"Wow... you weren't kidding!\"\n\n  \n\n\"Have you ever seen the sky look like that before?\"\n\n  \n\n\"...not quite. That one time with those shining lights I told you  \nand Daisy about was probably on the same level, but different. Still,  \nthis is beautiful...\"\n\n  \n\n\"It really is. I hope this is a positive sign for what to expect in  \nthis place.\"\n\n  \n\n\"We can only hope.\" They both sat in silence for a moment, taking  \nin the beautiful sight. \"...man, that water really does go on  \nforever though, it looks like. Never heard of a lake this big.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Tell me about it. And all that salt in it, too. Weird place, but  \nnot in a bad way.\" Lykou turned his attention back to the coconuts  \nin front of him and began cutting a few free and dropping them to the  \nground. \"Well, as nice as this is, it's not exactly an ideal  \nplace to sit around for long. Might as well climb back down.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Here, hang on a moment,\" Kuna suggested as he bent his perch  \nback to the ground carefully. \"Hold on tight!\" He began carefully  \ndoing the same with the tree Lykou was on, until it was close enough  \nto the ground and the konuul hopped off. Before dismissing his magic,  \nhe returned them both to a more normal shape and position, not  \nwanting to hinder their natural growth and health.\n\n  \n\n\"Thanks Ku,\" Lykou said, side-hugging the sereva. \"I was kinda  \nworried you wouldn't have the energy for it, to be honest. I guess  \nthat fruit helped a bit, huh?\"\n\n  \n\nKuna stretched and yawned. \"Yeah, a bit, but I'm still pretty  \nbeat. After I set up a shelter, I think I'm gonna meditate a bit  \nand turn in early.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Alright. I'm going to work on my instrument a bit, then I'll  \njoin you. Need any help?\"\n\n  \n\n\"...ordinarily I'd say no, but at this point, if you could give  \nme a hand filling in the gaps with whatever you can find, I'd  \nappreciate it.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Of course!\"\n\n  \n\nTogether, they put together a reasonably concealed natural shelter  \nfor them to sleep in- slightly smaller than the ones they'd been  \nusing more recently, but still enough for them to lay down in and  \nstore their stuff alongside them while they slept. Almost immediately  \nafterwards, Kuna set up their mat and sprawled out for the night,  \ndeciding to forgo the meditation. Lykou worked on his instrument for  \na little while, but ultimately couldn't resist putting it away and  \ncuddling with the sereva until he was ready for sleep himself.\n\n  \n\n\\*\\*\\*\\*\\*\n\n  \n\nIn the morning, after they'd eaten and packed up again, Kuna  \nfigured out which way the spell was pointing to for the next arch,  \nwhile Lykou was taking in the sights around them. \"Before we go  \nthat way, lets get up to the top of this little mountain we're on,\"  \nthe canid suggested.\n\n  \n\n\"Oh? Why?\"\n\n  \n\n\"Judging from the peek I got last night on that tree, it's not  \ntoo much further up, and it'll give us a good look at our  \nsurroundings.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Fair enough. Maybe I'll find some more fruit along the way,\"  \nKuna commented as they began hiking up the ridge again. He sniffed  \nthe air and looked around at the various flowers growing from bushes  \nand vines all around them. A few of them were especially large. \"Sure  \nis pretty here, I will say that much. Even smells kinda nice.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, it really does. Might be a bit warm for my tastes, but  \notherwise I kind of like it here so far.\"\n\n  \n\nAfter only a couple of hours, they were approaching the mountain's  \npeak. The few glimpses they got through the trees were starting to  \nmake them wonder just how big the 'lake' really was. When they  \nfinally reached the top, Kuna used his magic to get them up high  \namong the treetops to get the best view possible. What they saw made  \ntheir jaws drop. The water continued seemingly forever in all  \ndirections.\n\n  \n\n\"Just how big IS this lake?!\" Lykou wondered aloud.\n\n  \n\n\"Looks like we're on an island, either way,\" Kuna replied,  \nlooking around in all directions with wide eyes. \"It's not the  \nonly one though, look.\"\n\n  \n\nLykou turned to look in the direction the sereva was pointing, where  \nthere was another, even larger island in the distance, with a larger  \nand somewhat steeper mountain compared to the overgrown foothill  \nthey'd crested. There were also a number of tiny islands dotting  \nthe water between them. He held his hand up to shield his eyes from  \nthe sun and squinted. \"Hey, I think I sea canoes out there, too. Or  \nsomething like that. Looks like there are people here after all.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Great...\"\n\n  \n\n\"Hey come on, they might be friendly.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Or they might be ursarans again.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Doubt it, I've never seen them use canoes. They don't seem to  \nlike deep water much.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Probably can't swim. Heavy fuckers,\" Kuna remarked. \"Anyway,  \nwhoever they are, remember we should assume they're dangerous until  \nwe can determine otherwise.\"\n\n  \n\nLykou sighed and rolled his eyes. \"Being careful is one thing,  \nbeing cynical is another. Anyway, isn't that the direction you said  \nthe arch was?\"\n\n  \n\n\"...yeah,\" Kuna finally admitted reluctantly, scanning his eyes  \nacross the water. \"Which presents a new problem. How are you at  \nmaking canoes?\"\n\n  \n\nThe konuul stared blankly in the distance, then frowned. \"Shit.  \nGood point. I've only rarely been in one, and never made one  \nmyself.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Damn. No way we can swim that far, especially carrying all our  \nstuff.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, that's... that's a bit of an issue.\"\n\n  \n\n\"I suppose I could always use my magic to, I dunno, try and shape a  \ntree trunk into something like a canoe, then we can cut it down.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Maybe... or maybe we could find someone who already has one to  \ngive us a ride,\" Lykou said, pointing towards the water nearer  \ntheir own island. While fewer in number, there were a few boats down  \nthere as well- though they looked strange to the konuul. \"Are  \nthose... fins or something on them? What, are they trying to mimic  \nfish now?\"\n\n  \n\n\"I guess that might make them easier to move around in the water,  \ner... somehow.\"\n\n  \n\n\"I'm not sure how. Pretty sure fins have to be, you know, _in_  \nthe water to work,\" Lykou said, scratching his head.\n\n  \n\n\"Anyway, my point still stands. We don't know that we can trust  \nthem.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah well, we may not have much choice. We can use your magic if  \nwe have to, but neither of us is familiar with making those things so  \nwe can't guarantee we won't make something that'll just,  \ny'know... sink. Or roll around like crazy in the water.\"\n\n  \n\nKuna sighed. \"Fine. But let's at least make an escape plan ahead  \nof time if they're hostile.\"\n\n  \n\n\"Alright, we can talk about it on the way down. If we're lucky,  \nwe can make it to the shore in time to wave one of them over and talk  \nto them.\"\n\n  \n\nThe sereva groaned mildly as he brought them back down to the ground.  \n\"Pleeeease let them be nice... I've had enough running and  \nfighting for a lifetime.\"\n\n  \n\nLykou chuckled. \"Hey, at least we've gotten pretty good at it.\"\n\n  \n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Mystic Heart Odyssey","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2027464-mho-pt-4-quality-time-chapter-8.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2033470-mho-the-cult-of-the-crimson-isles-chapter-2.json"}}